Tip-holder for billiard-cues.



W. H. FINNEY TIP HOLDER FOR BILLIARD CUES.-

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12. 1915.

1260, l '73. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

WILLIAM H. FINNEY, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

TIP-HOLDER FOR BILLIARD-CUES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19,1918.

Application filed January 12, 1915. Serial No. 1,819.

To all 'wh'omz't'mag concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. a citizen of the United States, residin Trenton, in the county of Mercer and FINNEY, at tate of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tip-Holders for Billiard- Cues, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to tip holders for billiard cues, and it has for its object to produce a device of this class which will be simple in construction, inexpensive and easily applied.

A further object of the invention is to produce a tip holder with which the tip is lntimately connected, said holder being readily applicable to a billiard cue,

A further object of the invention is to produce a tip holder consisting of a cylindrical member with which the tip is intimately connected in such a fashion that when the holder is applied to the end of the cue, the leather tip will abut directly on the wood, thereby producing that resilient action which is so much desired in this claSs of devices and which is not attainable where VariOus substances are interposed between the tip and the end of the cue.

A further object of the invention is to produce a tip holder which, while retaining the tip with great efficiency will not in any wise tend to injure the tip, but will on the contrary constitute a guard for the same, insuring long life of the tip.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims,

In the accompanying drawing has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawing,--

Figure l is a perspective view of the improved tip holder.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same. 0

Fig. 3 1s a transverse sectlonal view showing the tip holder withthe tip attached, the

holder being applied to the end of a cue.

F ig. 4 is a top plan view of the tip holder.

F1g. 5 is a transverse sectional view illustrating a modified construction of the holder.

F 1g. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the modified holder with the tip attached, the holder being applied to the end of a cue.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view taken on the line 7-7 in Fig. 5.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are'deno-t/ed by like characters of reference.

The improved tip holder consists of a cylindrical or approximately cylindrical slightly tapering sleeve or ferrule 15 made of metal, preferably of brass, and having at one end an inturned annular flange l6. Formed integral with said flange and upstruck from the inner edge thereof are a plurality of sharp pointed prongs or barbs 17. These barbs, as seen in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, may be slightly tilted outwardly with respect to the axis of the sleeve, the tilt or inclination being, however, slight. As seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the prongs or barbs, here designated by 17, are tilted inwardly in the direction of the axis of the sleeve, and said prongs are slightly cupped or dished on their inner faces, as best seen at 18 in Fig. 7.

The sleeve 15 is provided with longitudinal slots 19 that will enable it to yield re siliently when applied to the end of a cue 20, thereby-clamping such cue and engaging the same securel The tip 21, which is made of leather in the customary manner, is connected with the holder by pressing the prongs or barbs 17 or 17 into the base of the tip, a suitable die or press being utilized for this purpose. In so uniting the holder with the tip, the prongs 17 or 17, following the trend of their original inclination, will become still further in clined; that is to say, theprongs 17 being tilted outwardly will become distended, while the prongs 17" being tilted inwardly will become further converged, and said prongs will thus firmly bind and retain the tip in position upon the holder without the use of extraneou fastening means of any kind. The holders with. the tips attached may be furnished at a moderate price and will enable the devotees of the game to keep their cues in good order and repair with very slight trouble and expense. It will be observed that the tip 21 used in connection application of pressure,

nected together by means with the improved holder has a perfectly smooth flat bottom face and that the tip 1s not weakened by grooving, notching, 1ndenting or otherwise mutilating the bottom face thereof, as is sometimes required.

It will be particularly noticed that when the holder is applied to the cue, the leather tip willabut directly on the end of the cue, not even the thickness of the flange 16 being interposed. This is due to the fact that in assembling the tip with the holder by the the flange 16 becomes actually embedded in the base of the tip. Thus when the holder is applied to the cue, the base of the tip will directly engage the end of the cue, as seen in the drawing. In said drawing, however, the thickness of the metal of which the holder is composed has been considerably exaggerated. In actual practice the thickness of the metal hardly exceeds that of a sheet of ordinary writing paper, and the end of the cue will, therefore, be caused to abut on the bottom face of the tip without materially indenting the latter to cause the flange 16 to become embedded therein.

It will be observed that the improved holder is composed of but a single piece of metal, thus insuring simplicity, inexpensiveness and lessening the liability of the parts becoming detached or disassembled. The tip used in connection with the holder is of the ordinary well known construction, and it requires no preparation whatever to enable it to be assembled with the holder. The holder does not in any way deface or injure the appearance of the tip, and the latter being seated with its outer or rim portion upon the flange 16, and said flange being partly embedded in the base, the tip is thereby materially strengthened and re- 7 inforced.

Metallic cue tip holders have heretofore been made, the same being constructed of a plurality of parts or members, usually including a sleeve to engage the end of the cue, and a holding member to engage the one tip, said sleeve and holder being consometimes involving the use of additional parts or connectin members. Devices thus constructed are ob ectionable, mainly because the resiliency resultin from direct contact of the base of the tip with the end of the cue is interfered with if not entirely destroyed by interposing parts therebetween. Such devices are also objectionable on account of being more or less clumsy, expensive and diflicult to adjust. My improved one tip holder consists of asingle integral metallic part, namely, a sleeve of very thin material having a narrow flange with upstruck prongs, the prongs and flange being seated in the base of the one tip when the parts are assembled, the entire portion of the base of the .tip bounded by the flange being in direct contact with the end of the one when the parts are assembled. The resultant action is wholly analogous to that of a one having a tip cemented directly on the end thereof, there being no parts interposed between the one and the tip to interfere with the resiliency of the stroke.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A one tip holder consisting of a metallic sleeve having at one end an inturned flange, said flange being provided at its inner edge with upstruck prongs, in combination with a one tip in which said flange and prongs are embedded'to securely retain the same.

2. A one tip holder consisting of a metallic sleeve having at one end an lnturned narrow annular flange provided at its inner edge with upstruck prongs slightly tilted with respect to the axis of the sleeve, in combination with a leather tip having a flat smooth bottom face, said prongs and flange bein embedded in the tip whereby that portion of the base of the tip which is bounded by the annular flange will be disposed in the plane of the under face of said flange and a cue engaging the sleeve and having its end abutting directly on that portion of the base of the one tip which is bounded by the annular flange of the sleeve.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. FINNEY.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH FINNEY, JAMES H. APPLEGATE. 

